It is well known in the art of spacecraft antennas to have reflector deployment/interchange mechanisms, as in U.S. Pat. No. 7,932,868, in which the mechanism(s) is never discussed, and U.S. Pat. No. 9,065,173 which discloses a rotating shaft carrying four reflectors extending radially and fixedly therefrom and generally equally spaced form each other (i.e. 90 degrees in this case). The latter mechanism is relatively complex and requires a relatively large volume for its operation.
None of these mechanisms discloses in relative details the operation of the displacement of one reflector at a time to allow for the reconfiguration of the antenna, depending on the reflector being used.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved reflector interchange mechanism.